DOHA, August 5. /TASS/. The Houthis from the Yemeni Ansar Allah rebel movement have used ballistic missiles to hit a Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern part of the Red Sea, Houthi Military Spokesman Yahya Saria stated.

According to him, rebels "struck a Saudi oil tanker Wafa in the northern part of the Red Sea near [the port city of] Yanbu using several ballistic missiles." Saria said the strike was accurate.

The Ansar Allah military spokesman noted that since rebels imposed a naval blockade on July 22, the Houthis have attacked a total of eight Saudi oil tankers. Moreover, he said that 29 oil tankers were forced to alter their course in the Red and Arabian Seas. Saria added that Saudi Arabia is rerouting its vessels to the northern part of the Red Sea, attempting to bypass the rebels’ blockade of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. In response, the Houthis threatened to expand their operations in the north in order to block all routes for Saudi vessels within the framework of the ‘blockade-for-blockade’ strategy.